Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus...
I want the Magic Bus, I want the Magic Bus, I want the Magic Bus...



The bus is really rocking as we head out of Black River. The sound system has provided a lot of laughs over the day and continues yeoman’s duties. More wedding music, more Marley sing-a-longs continuing through stereo cut-outs and rejoined in sync by a smack of Chicken’s fist on the dashboard. Straight out of a script – hilarious. The cut outs seem to be related to the CD player so we reluctantly say goodbye to Marley and the Wailers and switch to radio. This turns out OK. Jamaican radio is always fond of throwing remix transitions into song, or hell, just throwing an airhorn in the middle of a song. They do it anytime, all day, but it increases in the evening. Throughout the day we’ve all happily joined in a chorus of cacophony every time the DJ threw one down and we always continued it past their cut back into the song. In the evening, we start going for a variety of superlatives. Loudest is frequently attempted but we really seem to be happy to try to make the longest remix sound possible. We do well. We get a lot of practice because there is a lot of remix and airhorn.

It also gets pretty raucous and a little randy. These are Becca specialties. There is a certain conversation about how some members of the bale seem to be unaware of a variety of events that had occurred during the day. Someone raises the question, “How’d I miss that?” Becca offers a straightforward assessment of one way to remain “In the know” that just floors me. A little back and forth here leads to another BeccaJism that will live with me forever – “Like Rabbits!” I’m bent forward in my seat, grabbing my belly, banging my head on the seat in front. It’s just killing me when Booger, seated high upon the Throne of the Last Word, drops the bomb of bombs… “Rabbit done died…” he mock whispers…

I said, now I've got my Magic Bus (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I said, now I've got my Magic Bus (Too much, the Magic Bus)


Sweetie Pie and I are kind of slinking into our seats, every once in a while doing the head to head catnap. Alcohol is gone, no beers. Crowd is restless. Becca refuses to believe the beer is gone. Many ask multiple times if there is any more beer but Becca remains convinced there might be someplace we haven’t checked. I remember thinking I’m glad Marley is up by the coolers.

All the rum at the Pelican and the bus bashment as we pulled out of Black River catch up to Sweetie Pie and me. We pull over for a number of Bio breaks and I know that efforts are made to acquire beer. I think we got off once for the bathroom but otherwise we camped in our bus seats. Just enough, the Magic Bus.

I drive my baby every way (Too much, the Magic Bus)
Each time I go a different way (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I want it, i want it, I want it, I want it ...


We pull into Negril and we do a sort of reverse drop off, getting turtles to the beach first and then back up to the west end. Turtles are getting off with much more energy than Sweetie Pie and I can muster. Brasi was doing pretty good I think. We kind of had opposite trajectories today but our groove at Pelican was shared. Up the lane and we’re dropped off at the guest house. “Great Day” and “See you tomorrow” ‘s trail away with the Magic bus down the lane. It was a great day. A perfect day. A landmark day.

Every day you'll see the dust (Too much, the Magic Bus)
As I drive my baby in my Magic Bus (Too much, the Magic Bus)


As we walk up to our apartment we don’t realize that a great day is about to take a turn for the worse. We don’t realize that an incredible vacation is about to take a turn for the better. We don’t realize that a number of relationships are about to take a turn for best. Hell, we don’t realize much at this point, we just got off the freakin’ Magic Bus!!